


Sky Child

by nullberry



Series: Linked Universe [3]
Category: Linked Universe - Fandom, The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword
Genre: Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Nightmares, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, legend and sky bonding hecc yeah
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-15
Updated: 2019-09-15
Packaged: 2020-10-19 07:54:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 974
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20653760
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nullberry/pseuds/nullberry
Summary: "We've got a water child,”--Wind’s glare had turned from Legend to face the others--“and a sky child--” Sky froze, tuning out as a chill slowly crawled up his back. “We're basically collecting all the elements again," Four continued, oblivious to Sky’s response. "Actually, those do sound kinda cute."No one noticed how Sky’s face paled as Four pointed to him, dubbing him the 'sky child'.





	Sky Child

**Author's Note:**

> A 'lil messy, as I wrote this one pretty quickly. But I had three people look it over before posting it now, so hopefully it's been cleaned up enough lol  
I just needed to write the idea to get it out of my head ^^  
My OG prompt that I wrote down was, "Sky child meant to be fond nickname trigger???"

"I'm not a baby, you jerk!" 

Legend chuckled. As much as he cared for Wind, the kid was so easy to bother-- and quite frankly, it was hilarious with his exaggerated responses. It reminded him of Ravio, which only fed his amusement.

"Sure you are--you're like what, ten?" He grinned, watching Wind attempt to scowl harder.

" **I am almost fourteen--** "

"You realize that  _ all _ of you are kids, right? Wise beyond your years, sadly, but still kids." 

They all turned to Time, who was watching them amusedly with his one good eye. "You're all under twenty, you're children." Legend scoffed.

"Oh please, you should know more than anyone not to say that. You're like, eighty years older than you physically are, old man."

"But I'm still my physical age."

"...Screw off."

The group laughed as Time continued, "We've got plenty of children here." He pointed to Wild. "Wild child,"--then motioned to Twilight--"furry child, and--"

"Furry? Not even  _ you  _ can grow facial hair, there's nothing furry about  _ him _ ." Hyrule looked to Twilight, perplexed, and the teen just shrugged in response.

"We've got a water child,”--Wind’s glare had turned from Legend to face the others--“and a sky child--” Sky froze, tuning out as a chill slowly crawled up his back. “We're basically collecting all the elements again," Four continued, oblivious to Sky’s response. "Actually, those  _ do  _ sound kinda cute." 

No one noticed how Sky’s face paled as Four pointed to him, dubbing him the 'sky child'.

No one noticed when he didn't eat much at dinner, nor how quiet he was. He was always tired by the end of the day, and he was always catching naps in their moments of rest. Nothing was strange.

No one noticed that he wasn't paying attention while sharpening the Master Sword, earning him a knick on his hand.

And no one noticed anything odd in the way he went to bed early, ignoring the talk of who was taking what watches.

\---

_He could hear breath. He couldn’t see--it was dark, it was too dark, he couldn’t see anything. He could hear breathing--he could _feel_ breathing, it was on his neck, it was warm, it was _far too close_. He couldn’t breathe his own air anymore, he had no space, he was stuck, he was breathing in someone else’s air--___  
_  
___“Good-bye, sky child. Run and play.”

_ He could feel the sword pierce through his back, he felt it pierce through his entire body, he was in pain, he couldn’t see,  _ ** _how could he fight if he couldn’t see--_ **

His eyes shot open, and he shivered, the sudden cool of the night adding to his fear; he couldn’t register that it was sweat dripping down his neck-- _ something was touching his neck _ . His chest hurt--he was struggling to catch his breath, there were spots in his vision, it was dark-- ** _where was he_ ** _ \-- _

Two hands grasped his shoulders and he jumped. “Sky child--” His panting turned to hyperventilation-- “Calm down--Nightmare--”  _ Ghirahim is here, he is holding him and he is going to hurt him. Where is his sword, where is Fi, where is anyone Ghirahim is going to kill him-- _ He began twisting and turning, thrashing around violently in hopes of getting Ghirahim’s hands off of his shoulders, getting Ghirahim’s  _ breath out of his face-- _

He felt the hands let go and stood immediately, nearly tripping over himself.  _ Who was going to help him?  _ He spotted trees to the side: he was in a clearing.  _ If he could just make it there for cover-- _

“ **Sky.** ”

Ghirahim called to him and he ran. He made it to the trees, he ran further, he ran until his legs gave out-- _ it wasn’t far enough, he was going to be found and killed- _

He lay there on the ground, unable to move from the thoughts and fears and hopelessness that seized his mind. This was it. With no one around, he would finally be done in by that demon.

But nothing happened.

His breathing slowed, he found strength return to him as he calmed down. He wasn’t sure how long it took- but he was able to stand. He could breathe. He was alright. He took another deep breath, and let it out slowly, taking note of everything he heard and felt and saw to ground himself.  _ What had really happened there? _

He rolled his shoulders, trying to shake off his confusion and lingering fear. He turned to head back to the camp, only to jump at the sight of a figure watching him.

  
  


“Link? You ran off.” That was Legend’s voice. That was Legend’s voice, filled with worry and lined with a protective edge. That was Legend’s figure, his expression more concerned and soft than Sky had ever seen it. Wary, but clearly not willing to leave.  _ How long had Legend been there? _

“I, ah, dream,” he sputtered out, still unable to shake the anxiety resting in his stomach. Legend simply nodded, not moving from his spot.

"You panicked when I touched you."

"...Yeah."

"Huh."

  
  


There were a few beats of silence, more than enough to make Sky uncomfortable, and he could feel his face and neck heating up.

"You want to talk about it?"

"Not really."

Legend paused for a moment.

"Anything I can do, Sky?"

Sky nearly winced, expecting him to continue the nickname. But Legend didn't. He just stood patiently, waiting for a response.

"Never call me sky child."

Legend raised his eyebrows in a silent question.  _ You going to elaborate? _

Sky shook his head, walking up to him and placing his hand on Legend’s shoulder and giving him a small smile before heading back towards the camp.

…

And then he turned back around to a smug expression on Legend's face as he realized he'd gone the wrong way.

"Smooth."

"Yeah."

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you again Pmd, Sillus and Rory for looking this over for me <3


End file.
